Deployment-Related Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Does Gender Matter?
Title | Deployment-Related Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Does Gender Matter? |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Frank, Christine, Mark A. Zamorski, Jennifer E. Lee, and Ian Coleman |
Journal | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
Volume | 9 |
Issue | 1 |
Date Published | 2018 |
Abstract | Military research has attempted to identify whether women have an increased vulnerability to mental health issues following deployment-related trauma, but findings have been mixed. Most studies have controlled for childhood abuse, but not other non-deployment trauma (e.g. life-threatening illness), which may partly explain previous mixed results. This study assessed gender differences in the association between deployment-related trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while controlling for non-deployment trauma. Though controlling for non-deployment trauma did not completely dissipate gender differences in PTSD, such differences were greatly reduced, indicating that these may be partly related to traumatic experiences outside deployment. As gender did not moderate the link between deployment-related trauma and PTSD, the findings suggest that trauma experienced while on deployment does not disproportionately affect women compared to their male counterparts. |
URL | https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1486123 |